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Training on setting up of Livelihoods

A total of 25 Entrepreneurial Development Awareness Programs (EDAP) have been conducted and a total of 772 SHG members are benefited through this. Apart from the formal classroom EDAPs we also organise awareness sessions through the community Volunteers associated with various Self Help groups.

After the program 508 SHG members’ from various project villages initiated different enterprises. Apart from this 280 women who are already into various enterprises benefited by getting more technical awareness on the development of enterprises.

10 Skill Up gradation Training Programmes (SUTP) were conducted. The break up of these training into various enterprises is given below. A total of 135 women have been benefited through the 10 SUTPs.

Disaster Preparedness: Focus on Community based Disaster Management

Disaster preparedness committees have been formed and are functioning in eight different villages.

Participatory Disaster Risk assessment has been conducted in four villages. A draft report of the study has been submitted to TEAR Fund.

18 (including 7 orientations) Disaster Preparedness training sessions has been conducted in various schools.

Four Rapid Action Forces are formed and are functioning. Updating of the RAF has been conducted on a monthly basis.

One (1) Mobile Assistance and Relief Unit have been set up and is functioning.

Seven training on Disaster preparedness has been conducted for the fishermen folk and 762People from the community participated. Apart from this 10 Street plays on disaster preparedness have been conducted in partnership with UNDP and the state government.

School prefects training has been completed in eight target villages and a total of 210 students and 21 Teachers are being followed up for more involvement. The existing four Rapid Action Forces are being provided bi-monthly updations and time to time information. They have access to few rescue materials. The School prefects and trained students are developed as Peer educators – they train and demonstrate different skills as well as techniques which every school going student must know. These trained prefects are being invited to many other schools where they conduct demonstration sessions. This is one area which is quiet encouraging.

As part of Rehabilitation the following centres/ units have been set up

Common Facility Centre

Four CFCs have been formed and are functioning. Two CFCs for directly supporting the Entrepreneurial Units and other entrepreneurs and two Labs to help the units in maintaining the quality of products (one for testing fish products & another one for non-fish based products).

All the four CFCs are set up. Two of them have been set up in partnership with MS Swaminathan Research Centre, Chennai and the other one is upgraded in to Quality Control Lab. One lab is for the fish based activities and the other a training cum production centre for coir based products. Labs would ensure the quality of production and maintaining uniformity in the production quality.

Entrepreneurial Units

A total of 17 units have been set up and started functioning. These units include

Rapid Action Forums formed for building on local capacity:

The committees developed at the school level include School Teachers along with Students. The role of Teachers got more defined as they also involve in disaster preparedness, Participatory Risk assessment as well as co-ordinating the RAF activities. The roles of teachers have become more conspicuous by revamping the training at their school level. The trained School prefects in each of the school are equipped to demonstrate and explain all the must knows in DRR process.

The involvement of RAF has generated responsibility within the Parish, Committee members and others that the representatives falling under RAF are being selected on behalf of the village or parish/community and it is their direct responsibility to provide all possible support to the existing structures.

The State Govt. has initiated early warning committees in every village. The Parish is aware of such development and the members selected are acceptable to the parish. PK is in co-ordination with the Govt and merging of the DPC and Early Warning Program is being done. The respective list of DPC and RAF is endorsed by Panchayat, Block and the Parishes. This has capacitated the local bodies to act more efficiently as the list of members in DPC and RAF is already in place. The early warning committees are not very active though it has been initiated. There is a need to revamp the entire structure and the DPC as well as the RAF can contribute much to its importance.

Achievement

The project faced difficulties in organising the women SHG members to take control of all the Entrepreneurial Units. But pursuing our vision of creating opportunities the Project was firm enough to pass on this to the next line. After a series of discussions and deliberations a group of Women EU members were elected from among the existing EUs and were registered as a new Sub Trust of ESAF named “WAVE” Women Action for Village Empowerment.

The office bearers of the “WAVE” Trust /Consortium are managing all the Units. This is a major breakthrough as the project was handed over to the community as Registered body. This has reduced the stake and increases participation from among the SHG members at all levels including the Clusters and Federation. Today the Women Members are themselves managing the Entrepreneurial Units and are the proud owners.